Workers at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold‘s (FCX) Grasberg mine in Indonesia plan to go on strike in the coming days after talks with the company failed to resolve a pay dispute, a move that could tighten global copper supplies...

Thousands of workers kicked off a weeklong strike at Freeport-McMoRanCopper & Gold Inc.’s (FCX) gold and copper mine in eastern Indonesia, demanding higher wages and protesting the dismissal of their union...

Today I review two short or “naked” put trades I have talked about this month to show examples of how this option technique can be used successfully to either generate income or to buy your favorite names at a discount. On paper, one of the open trades is a winner, and one is a loser. But even...

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) reported net income of $897 million or $2.00 per share in the first quarter of 2010, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 per share. Earnings improved significantly from a modest...

In March, total Industrial Production rose by 0.1%. While that is a slowdown from recent growth rates, and far below consensus expectations of 0.7% growth, if one looks beyond the headline number, it is actually a fairly positive report.

In February, the Producer Price Index (PPI) fell by 0.6%, a far bigger decline than the 0.2% drop expected by the consensus of forecasts. However, all of the decline came from a bigger-than-expected fall in Energy prices. The core index, which strips out the volatile food and energy...

Freeport McMoran Copper Gold Co. (FCX) recently hit another 52-week high above $87 as both gold and copper continue to surge, with gold generating a buzz on the Street while approaching the $1,200 level. Shares of FCX have been riding...

Southern Copper Corporation (PCU), one of the leading copper producers in the world, posted net earnings of 37 cents in the third quarter of 2009, better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents. Earnings jumped 78.6% from 21...

Analytically, there are three components to an interest rate. The first is the risk that the money will not be paid back. This is a very big factor when dealing with corporate bonds, especially junk bonds. For the U.S. government’s obligations, as the owner of a nice shiny printing press that...

Freeport McMoRan (FCX), the large-cap global mining company, reported its third quarter earnings earlier today. The company reported earnings of $2.07 per share compared to $1.31 per share in the third quarter of 2008. This handily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.18 per share.

In September, total Industrial Production rose by 0.7% from August — its third straight monthly increase after a string where it was down 17 of 18 months. Total Capacity Utilization also climbed to 70.5%, up from an upwardly revised 69.9% (originally 69.6%) in August. While both are still...

Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) took a hit with the overall market in the big sell off of late 2008 and early 2009, but shares have since recovered nicely and posted big gains after bottoming out in early March. More recently shares have been pressuring an area of resistance...

Copper has long been called the “metal with the PhD” or the “smart” metal because of its apparent ability to predict changes in the economy based on metal demand and pricing. Copper is used in many industrial capacities, but especially in piping in residential and commercial...

Encore Wire Corporation (WIRE) continues to outperform even while it customers operate in one of the toughest sectors in the economy: construction. On Feb 9, Encore beat Wall Street estimates for the fourth quarter by 69.82%.

Olin Corporation’s (OLN) share price has been steadily advancing for most of the year, recently hitting a new 52-week and all-time high above $29. This recent price strength comes on the heels of the company’s strong second-quarter results in which revenue was up 38% from the same period...